Allentown Has Plans On Track For Revenues City To Purchase 3.4 Miles Of Abandoned Railroad Line

June 19, 1985|by TED MELLIN, The Morning Call

The city of Allentown has agreed to buy 3.4 miles of abandoned railroad from Conrail for $420,000.

The property was the West End Branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. It circles the area of 3rd and Linden streets, goes along the Jordan Creek, west along Sumner Avenue to the area of 17th and Liberty streets and winds up at what was the 12th Street Terminal.

Neal E. Kern, city manager of engineering, announced the agreement yesterday.

The West End Branch is the second section of abandoned railroad property the city has agreed to buy from Conrail. Agreement was reached in April to have the city buy 1.8 miles of former Lehigh & New England Railroad right of way for $155,000.

It was revealed in January that the city was negotiating to buy about six miles or Conrail property with the intent of selling most of it to abutting property owners for the expansion of their businesses, for industrial development or for additional parking.

Major reasons for the purchases are to place non-taxable land on the tax rolls, providing land for business development and adding to the park system.

Kern said the city initially expressed interest when Conrail advertised in 1981 that it intended to abandon the West End Branch. He added that it took several years for Conrail to proceed through the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Public Utility Commission and the state.

The PUC conducted field investigations with city and Conrail representatives and subsequently permitted the abandonment of street crossings. It indicated that Conrail had to assume the cost for removing rails and paving the streets.

As part of the agreement to purchase the West End Branch, the city agreed to assume the responsibility of removing the tracks and restoring the streets.

Kern said final settlement of the transaction is expected to take about two or three months.

An allocation of $120,000 was placed in a bond issue this year for the purchase. Some money will come from the parks bureau, and the remainder of the $420,000 will be gotten from a short-term loan.

Kern hoped an estimated $300,000 can be realized in resale within 18 months.

The Allentown Economic Development Corp. will handle the sales of land to adjacent property owners. An economic development task force will establish policies and prices.

Letters to adjacent property owners will be sent in three or four weeks to advise them of the availability of the land.

Properties which remain unsold will be put up for public sale.

"Quite a few people are interested - at least 20 persons - most of whom are adjacent property owners," Kern said. "They are primarily interested in expanding their own properties."

A total of 29.9 acres is involved in the transaction. The city plans to keep about half for parkland in Jordan Meadows along Jordan Creek between Linden and Cedar streets.

The 3.8-acre 12th Street Terminal site is being studied by the city planning bureau for possible development for light industry or commercial use. It is bounded by 12th, 13th, Liberty and Gordon streets.

The land to be acquired starts at a point near 3rd and Linden streets behind Central Catholic High School. From there it follows a path along Jordan Creek to Gordon Street, passes under the Tilghman Street Bridge over Jordan Creek, goes to Cedar Street and through a tunnel under Front Street near Fullerton Avenue. It loops under the 4th Street Bridge, crosses 6th Street north of Sumner Avenue and parallels Sumner Avenue to 16th Street, curvesacross 17th and Tilghman to 17th and Liberty and follows Scott Street to the 12th Street Terminal.

Negotiations are continuing for the purchase another .9mile from Conrail between the old city incinerator site and 10th Street. The former Reading Co. line is known as the "Traylor industrial tract."